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15/11/2013

Doctor Who The Night of the Doctor

A big online surprise prequel to the Anniversary Special
Without warning- though there had been rumours- a 7 minute prequel called
`The Night of the Doctor` appeared on 14 November. It’s a double surprise because
not only was it unexpected but it also seems to give away one of the major
puzzles surrounding the anniversary special, now just a week away. You might
not have seen it or want to see it yet so be aware the review that follows is
totally spoilerific!

Warning- Spoilers after the break

Paul McGann: Back! BACK! BACK!!

“Not the Doctor you were expecting?” is the tag line for this clever
little episode. Having offered a selection of almost every type of adventure
from the series’ past last season this is where Moffat starts to tie together
the actual history of the show. Whether this needs to be done, how much it
might restrict future show runners and whether it’s less creative than
inventing new things is a debate for somewhere else. Whatever we think of
Moffat’s masterplan the return of Paul McGann, if only for a moment (not The
Moment we assume?!) is something to savour.

The plot sees him come to the rescue of Cass ( Emma Campbell Jones) yet she doesn’t want to be
resuced once she realises the Doctor's race. She hates the Time Lords who are by now embroiled in the Time War. The
ship crashes on, of all handy places, Karn where in a moment of pure fan
delight the Sisterhood of the Flame re-appear. Despite the slight disappointment
that they don’t perform their 1970s hit `Sacred Flame, Sacred Fire,` it is
rather nice to find something other than the `big` monsters being resurrected.
Steven Moffat adds more powder to their keg by having them able to assist
the mortally hurt Doctor select the type of regeneration he requires. Hold on a
sec- `type` of regeneration?!

There’s been much debate over the whole regeneration malarkey in particular
whether the Doctor is about to run out of his standard dozen. In a series like
this it hardly matters; imagine the BBC saying; `sorry we can’t make any more
episodes because the Doctor is at the end of his regeneration cycle`. Yet
Moffat seems obsessed with it and uses it here to answer the question of where
John Hurt’s Doctor comes from. The suggestion seems to be he is a different
sort of Time Lord engineered by the Sisterhood as a `warrior`. Our first glimpse
of him here is in a very well done shot of a young Hurt. Judging from now
weathered appearance this is a Doctor who ages so does he even count as a
proper regeneration? Does he age in response both to the unusual nature of his
regeneration and also the previously alluded to bad deeds he undertakes “in the
name of the Doctor.” It does seem odd to reveal where he comes from before the
episode itself but is nonetheless an aspect that significantly raises the
importance of this episode. No diverting entertainment like `Time Crash` this
is as full on a part of the Doctor’s mythology as `The Deadly Assassin`.
Appropriate too perhaps that it debuts online in what we’re being told is the
future of broadcasting.

"That was a knackering seven minutes. Can I have a break for another seventeen years now?"

Paul McGann delivers a nuanced performance that
makes you wish he had had more tv adventures. Moffat manages to make the Big
Finish companions canonical in a sneaky line but to have seen McGann’s Doctor
do a season or two of modern TV Doctor
Who would have been rewarding. There is something interesting too in the
idea of him running away from the Time War before his involvement in it; you
can see the Doctor’s wariness of it in his eyes. Claire Higgins also delivers
an impressive performance as the Sister’s leader who coaxes and cajoles the
Doctor to take up arms. Emma Campbell Jones also displays companion potential
sparking an immediate rapport with McGann. Like everything in the production it’s
short lived but has you imagining a season of the two of them adventuring. The
brevity of the episode means his conversion to decide to become involved is too
swift (in a proper series this would be a season arc) but McGann looking both
soulful, worried and finally resigned and he sells it brilliantly. We believe what
he says.

Overall `The Night of the Doctor` is such a headlong
rush and it’s amazing it has the content of half an ordinary episode. Bits of
it look a little rushed, particularly the very CGI looking Karn effects shot but
director John Hayes shoots it with style. This is a joy ride and a fantastic
gift for fans who always wanted to see more of the Doctor who never really had
a chance to shine. Such a shame we will see this "Doctor no more".

"I'd rather be resuced by David Tennant" "Shut up! You know my shoes fit perfectly?"